The Highland Granny Mystery

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I had long known that both grandparents on my father's side were from families of Paisley weavers, and that my maternal grandfather, although of Irish parentage could trace his ancestry back to a Dutch supporter of Prince William, and when genealogy research became much easier in recent times with the advent of the internet my researches were chiefly a matter of filling in the detail on these three of my four lines of ancestry.

My maternal grandmother, Jane McLeod McNair (1881-1961) had been brought up in Paisley by a family named Dougan who were of Irish origin. I was always told that she came to them as a baby from the Isle of Skye. This belief was supported by my cousin, who asserted that granny came from Portree on the Isle of Skye. Further credence came from the fact that my grandparents had lived in Portree for a short time, where my grandfather had been the first motor car mechanic on the island, about a hundred years ago. Lack of demand for his skills had led to them returning to the lowlands after about six months.

My genealogy research has now shown that she was born in Paisley, and that her parents were in fact a William McNair, a thread dyer in Paisley, and Maggie McLeod, born in Dunfermline. The McNair line leads back to Paisley weavers, while William McNair's mother was a Williamson from Ireland. The McNairs were related to the Dougans through at least two marriages.

Maggie McLeod died from tuberculosis when my grandmother was six months old and William McNair remarried. Granny and her three siblings were handed over to the Dougans. Her brother and sisters all died young from tuberculosis.

Maggie McLeod's parents were both born in Paisley, but lived in Dunfermline for a time before returning to Paisley. Her father William McLeod was a thread dyer. The only record I can find of his parents is that they were named in his death certificate as having been a Daniel McLeod and a Mary McDonald. There were many McLeod/McDonald marriages in Scotland in the late 1700's/early 1800's. Her mother was a Mary Wallace, daughter of a Paisley weaver, Robert Wallace and his wife a Mary McAllister.

So no highland grandmother despite the long held belief. I have been unable to establish any Isle of Skye ancestor, other than the tenuous fact that the seat of Clan McLeod is at Dunvegan Castle on the island.